Public Disclosure Copy
The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report
MAURITANIA - Skills Development Support Project (P118974)
MAURITANIA - Skills Development Support Project (P118974)
AFRICA | Mauritania | Education Global Practice |
IBRD/IDA | Specific Investment Loan | FY 2011 | Seq No: 11 | ARCHIVED on 08-Aug-2017 | ISR27381 |
Implementing Agencies: GOVERNMENT OF MAURITANIA, DPEF
Key Dates
Key Project Dates
Bank Approval Date:26-Apr-2011 Effectiveness Date:12-Sep-2011
Planned Mid Term Review Date:16-Sep-2013 Actual Mid-Term Review Date:16-Mar-2015
Original Closing Date:30-Apr-2016 Revised Closing Date:31-Dec-2017
Project Development Objectives
Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document)
The Development Objectives of the proposed operation are to improve the quality and efficiency of training institutions and createan enabling
environment for a more market-driven Technical and Vocational Education Training System.
Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective?
No
PHRPDODEL
Components
Name
Prevention of the Ebola Epidemic:(Cost $0.70 M)
Strengthening and diversifying Technical and Vocational Education Training:(Cost $21.90 M)
Improving the Institutional Environment of Technical and Vocational Education Training:(Cost $4.70 M)
Overall Ratings
Name Previous Rating Current Rating
Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory
Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory
Overall Risk Rating Moderate Moderate
Implementation Status and Key Decisions
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MAURITANIA - Skills Development Support Project (P118974)
In accordance with the established OPCS guidelines, this ISR evaluates the Project’s performance during the lifetime of the project across the three
harmonized criteria of: (i) relevance of objectives/design and implementation; (ii) efficacy; and (iii) efficiency. A more thorough and comprehensive
analysis based on most up-to-date data will be presented in the final ISR and ICR.
Project Context
The Mauritania Skills Development Support Project (US$17.6 million, US$16 million from the International Development Association (IDA) and US$1.6
from the Government of Mauritania) was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on April 26, 2011 and became effective on
September 12, 2011. An Additional Financing (AF) in the amount of US$11.3 million was approved on October 1, 2014 and became effective on March
30, 2015. The AF maintained the original PDO and scaled up the main activities of the project: (i) extending performance-based contracts (PBCs) to six
additional technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centers; (ii) expanding the short-term training programs; (iii) implementing a broad
plan for human resources (HR) development in the TVET sector; and (iv) supporting the rehabilitation, moderate expansion, and equipment of four
TVET centers. The AF also introduced a third component with Ebola-related activities. A level 2 restructuring was approved on February 3, 2016 which
extended the project closing date from June 30, 2016 to December 31, 2017 to allow time for the completion of scaled up activities.
Relevance of Objectives and Design
The objectives of the project were highly relevant at the time of appraisal and have remained so as they respond to key issues and challenges facing
the TVET sector in Mauritania including: low skills workforce; growing number of out-of-school unskilled and unemployed youth; limited capacity and low
quality and efficiency of TVET institutions; and insufficiently developed short term job insertion training and apprenticeship programs. They have been
also strongly aligned with the Government’s strategic agenda for the sub-sector as outlined in the National Program for the Development of the
Education Sector (Programme National pour le Development du Secteur Educatif — PNDSE) (2010-2020) and the Growth and Poverty Reduction
Strategy paper (2010-2014), both of which identified the need to increase and diversify TVET institutions and improve the quality and relevance of
training programs provided. The objectives of the Project were also consistent with the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) (2012-16) for Mauritania
which identified weak human capital as one of the major constraints to economic growth and prioritized supporting economic growth through increasing
the pool of skilled workers.
The design of the project was informed by lessons learned from previous Bank’s operations in Mauritania and from similar projects in other countries
and by analytical work carried out by the Bank and the French Development Agency (Agence Francaise du developpement – AFD) in the TVET sector.
Some of these lessons included: (i) the importance of having a clear institutional framework to ensure smooth implementation and sound coordination of
the main actors in order to avoid implementation; (ii) the need to strengthen the capacity of the Fonds d’Appui aux Actions de Formation (later named
FAP-FTP) so it becomes a credible funding entity that effectively engages training providers; (iii) the effectiveness of PBCs in improving performance;
(iv) the success of short term training programs in preparing disadvantaged out-of-school youth for the job market; and (v) the importance of a
competitive process to select training providers in improving the quality of the services provided.
The Project’s results chain was clear as the activities and objectives supported across each of the Project’s components were logically linked to the
Project’s overall objectives. However, the original design was ambitious in scope as it sought to support both the legislative reorganization of the TVET
subsector, as well as to promote the adoption of international standards of certification for TVET programs.
Under this earlier 2014 AF/restructuring, the original design remained largely the same and the additional resources were mainly used to scale up
existing activities with the addition of some civil works that the Original Project-funded assessment of the status of infrastructure of the existing 17 TVET
institutions carried out in October 2013 showed necessary, given the facilities' critical stage of degradation because of lack of maintenance.
Based on the above, the relevance of Objectives and Design is rated substantial both for the original and the AF.
Efficacy (Achievement of Project Development Objectives)
The following provides an overview of outputs and outcomes achieved under the Project. The final ISR and ICR analyses will build upon this preliminary
assessment and report on the level of achievement on each of the performance indicators. Some of these data are currently being analyzed and
collated by the Government and for this reason cannot be included in this ISR. The full dataset will be examined in detail in the final ISR and ICR.
Component 1. Strengthening and Diversifying Technical and Vocational Education through support to performance-based contract (School
Program Implementation Agreement) with TVET institutions and to Apprenticeship and short term training programs
The project has reached 15,229 beneficiaries (96 percent of target). More than one-third (34.3 percent) of the beneficiaries are female largely
exceeding the target (27 percent). These beneficiaries include students who graduated from TVET institutions (7,962; 85 percent of target) and short
term training programs supported by the project (7,337; 119 percent of target). The target of number of beneficiaries will be reached as an additional
1,000 youth are expected to attend short term training sessions that are already approved by the board of FAP-FTP. Drop-out rates have not, however,
decreased as planned and have continued to fluctuate, indicating a lingering retention issue that need to be addressed.
Subcomponent 1.1. Performance-based contracts (School Program Implementation Agreement) (PBCs). The Original Project planned a pilot of 6
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The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report
MAURITANIA - Skills Development Support Project (P118974)
out of 18 existing TVET institutions in the PBC program that were selected on the basis of relevance of their programs in relation to the country's
economic needs. Eight institutions were finally selected as the launching of the program gained momentum. The School of Fisheries, initially selected,
did not sign eventually into the program because deemed ineligible as its administration was transferred from the Ministry of Fisheries to the Ministry of
Defense. The AF added six TVET institutions in the PBC program. In 2016, two TVET institutions supported by the project merged into one and the
School of Mines was closed, its assets were transferred to the newly created polytechnic school, whose oversight is jointly done by the Ministry of
Higher Education and the Ministry of Defense.
As a result, 11 TVET institutions are currently supported by the project through PBCs. They are required to prepare their 'projet d'etablissement' to
address pedagogical, training and governance needs. They are then entitled to receive sub-grants to implement their contract programs, equipment, as
well as technical assistance to help review the curriculum, aligning them with market needs, setting modern governance standards and practice, and
training trainers. Multiple rounds of sub-grants have been provided and most of the equipment has been delivered to these institutions, except two sets
of equipment: one technical training materials manufactured only through special order request (cutting motors) is expected to be delivered in October
and another set of IT equipment for education is currently being procured. All of their trainers have benefited from training sessions in Morocco and
Tunisia in diverse specialties (agriculture (15); Construction (55); Mechanics (127); services (79); Electrical (65); technical education (41); IT (18)).
As described above, the AF also supported the rehabilitation and moderate expansion of four training institutions (Kaédi, Néma, Boghé and Nouakchott).
For two of them (Kaedi and Nema), the civil works have been completed with newly constructed operational buildings which include workshop rooms,
classrooms, labs, offices, documentation centers, housing and latrines. Existing building have also been rehabilitated. For the other two (Nouakchott
and Boghe), the work is on-going and should be completed before project closing.
All TVET institutions supported by the Project provide timely and detailed reports on their performance to the INAP-FTP, which monitors the program.
Their enrollment has increased by 47 percent (target of 45 percent) and their number of graduates reached 7,962 (85 percent of the target). Two tracer
studies were conducted by the INAP-FTP: One in 2015 that covered three cohorts (2012,13, 14) and another in 2016 for the 2015 cohort. The first study
whose results were published in 2016 showed that 56% of these graduates found work within one year after graduating. The results of the second tracer
study are expected to be published in the upcoming months. Its results will be analyzed in the final ISR and ICR.
None of the TVET institutions supported by the project adopted international standards for certification as planned in the PAD. This was perhaps too
ambitious as International standards appear misaligned or not compatible with the standards sought out by the labor market served by these TVET
institutions. The Project is however planning a session training on international standards of certification for TVET management to raise awareness and
prepare for the future, especially the prospect of the Gaz exploitation around 2022. Another shortcoming under the Project is related to revenue
generation. Although the indicator target has been met, resources generated were, for the most part from the Project, in the form of payment for short
term training provided by the institution under the Apprenticeship and short term training programs. This raises the issue of sustainability of this type of
revenue generation.
Subcomponent 1.2. Apprenticeship and short term training programs have targeted out-of-school youth (ages 14-25) and covered a wide range of
vocations such as construction, industry, fisheries, livestock farming, paramedical sector, tertiary trade, media, urban and rural crafts. Multiple rounds of
sub-grants have been provided to public, non-governmental, and private training providers to conduct the training in partnership with prospective
employers and cooperatives. During the Original Project, which targeted 4,780 out-of-school youth, 1,500 youth benefited from this training. The AF
scaled up this training program by increasing the target to 6,500 youth (or an additional 1,720 individuals). At this time, 7,337 out-of-school youth have
benefited from this program and this number is expected to reach 8,390 by the end of the project as trainings are on-going. The INAP – FTP (Institut
National d’Appui et de Promotion pour la Formation Technique et Professionnelle), in charge of oversight, monitoring and evaluation, carried out a
tracer study in 2016 that covered beneficiaries from 2012 to January 2016 (using a sample of 5,400 trainees). The insertion rate was found to be 76%
(target is 64%).
Component 2: Improving the institutional environment of Technical and Vocational Education
The following capacity-building activities have been carried out: (i) a training need assessment of TVET institutions; (ii) TA for update of the legal
framework for skills development; (iii) the development of an Human Resource Development Plan to support capacity development of the Ministry of
Vocational Training to create a more demand-driven TVET system and capacity strengthening of the TVET system; and (iv) training of staff of INAP-
FTP and the Ministry, most of whom benefited from study tours in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.
The INAP-FTP’s capacity has been reinforced as planned to monitor the PBCs with TVET institutions, to conduct tracer studies and to develop
competencies-based curriculum content and pedagogical support for TVET institutions.
The process of updating the legal framework of the TVET sector has been completed as government technical committees have approved the draft
developed by the Ministry with TA provided by the project. However, the draft has yet to be submitted to the Council of Ministers prior to its submission
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MAURITANIA - Skills Development Support Project (P118974)
to parliament. The Minister has voiced commitment and confidence that the updating process will be completed before the end of the project with the
enactment of a new law.
Based on the above, the efficacy is rated substantial both for the original project and the AF.
Efficiency
The cost of activities has been for the most part kept under budget, except for the cost of training that was underestimated at appraisal and corrected at
the AF/restructuring. The project saved on the cost of short term training initially estimated at US$715 (Actual US$653). Based on the above, the
efficiency is rated modest both for the original project and the AF.
Risks
Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool
Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating
Political and Governance -- Moderate Moderate
Macroeconomic -- Low Low
Sector Strategies and Policies -- Low Low
Technical Design of Project or Program -- Moderate Moderate
Institutional Capacity for Implementation and
Sustainability
-- Moderate Moderate
Fiduciary -- Moderate Moderate
Environment and Social -- Low Low
Stakeholders -- Moderate Moderate
Other -- -- --
Overall -- Moderate Moderate
Results
Project Development Objective Indicators
PHINDPDOTBL
Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 2,458.00 13,886.00 15,229.00 15,911.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
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PHINDPDOTBL
Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Custom Supplement)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 15.00 34.30 34.17 27.00
PHINDPDOTBL
Student graduating from TVET institution supported by the project (Number, Custom Supplement)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 6,471.00 7,962.00 9,411.00
PHINDPDOTBL
Reduced Drop-out rate in participating TVET institutions(Quality) (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 9.00 7.27 10.43 3.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDPDOTBL
Youth enrolled in short term training programs finding employment in field related to training within 6 months of completion of
training/apprenticeship(Quality (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 76.00 76.00 64.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDPDOTBL
Regulatory framework provides legal protection and status to private sector training institutions (Enabling Environment)
(Yes/No, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value N N N Y
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Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
Overall Comments
Intermediate Results Indicators
PHINDIRITBL
Establishment of a functioning rapid-response team (Ebola prevention) (Yes/No, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value N Y Y Y
Date 12-Jan-2015 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Presence of an isolation unit for Ebola case investigation and management (Yes/No, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value N Y Y Y
Date 12-Jan-2015 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Percentage of Health facilities that have case definition/guidelines for Ebola (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 100.00 100.00 95.00
Date 12-Jan-2015 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
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PHINDIRITBL
Increase in enrollment in participating TVET institutions (annually) (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 19.00 45.00 47.00 45.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Training programs certified to meet international standards (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 13.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Resources generated from services provided by TVET institutions as part of recurrent budget (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 3.00 13.00 13.00 13.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Student: teacher ratio (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 9.00 12.00 12.00 12.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
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PHINDIRITBL
TVET institutions with an agreed PBC (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 10.00 10.00 14.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 19-Dec-2016 30-Jun-2016
PHINDIRITBL
TVET institutions providing a detailed report on time with information on agreed performance indicators (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 10.00 11.00 14.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Student unit cost in apprenticeship and training programs (Amount(USD), Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 640.00 650.00 653.00 715.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Number of TVET institutions conducting tracer studies (Number, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 11.00 18.00 12.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
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PHINDIRITBL
MDEFPNT produces an annual statistical yearbook with updated information on key TVET indicators (Yes/No, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value N Y Y Y
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Share of government contribution to FAP-FTP’s budget (%) (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 20.00 25.00 25.00 25.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
PHINDIRITBL
Share of students enrolled in new private TVET training providers (Percentage, Custom)
Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target
Value 0.00 25.00 25.00 25.00
Date 05-May-2011 19-Dec-2016 24-Jul-2017 31-Dec-2017
Overall Comments
Data on Financial Performance
Disbursements (by loan)
Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed Disbursed
P118974 IDA-49210 Effective USD 16.00 16.00 0.00 14.67 0.00 92%
P118974 IDA-H9650 Effective USD 11.30 11.30 0.00 8.12 2.15 72%
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Key Dates (by loan)
Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date
P118974 IDA-49210 Effective 26-Apr-2011 13-Jun-2011 12-Sep-2011 30-Apr-2016 31-Dec-2017
P118974 IDA-H9650 Effective 30-Apr-2014 01-Oct-2014 30-Mar-2015 30-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2017
Cumulative Disbursements
Restructuring History
Level 2 Approved on 24-Feb-2015 ,Level 2 Approved on 03-Feb-2016
Related Project(s)
P144575-MR-Skills Development Project-AF
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